


When the World Catches Up

by Comicbooklovergreen



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Cartinelli - Freeform, F/F, Femslash, Marriage, The Avengers attend Cartinelli's wedding, based on a tumblr prompt, no alzheimer's, past steggy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-18
Updated: 2015-08-18
Packaged: 2018-04-15 10:51:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4603989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Comicbooklovergreen/pseuds/Comicbooklovergreen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She'd waited for this moment with Angie almost as long as she'd waited for Steve to come back. Peggy Carter gets married, Steve Rogers attends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When the World Catches Up

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a prompt from spockoandjimjim over on Tumblr. Peggy is of perfectly sound mind in this because the Alzheimer’s hurts too much. And even though they’re next to each other at the wedding, I’m not implying a Steve/Sharon thing here. Because that hurts worse than the Alzheimer’s in my head. Thanks muchly to Rainbowriddler for helping with the title.

She was too old to be this nervous. Especially about something she’d wanted so desperately for most of her life. So said the rational part of her brain. Too bad the rest of it didn’t agree. Shaking her head, Peggy studied herself in the mirror, pulling her Director face, one she technically should’ve retired decades earlier. “Get it together, Margaret.”

Howard would mock her endlessly. The great Peggy Carter, nervous about a few nuptials. He’d always said the world would catch up with her and Angie eventually, that he’d walk her down the aisle when it did, whether she liked it or not. And there’d be a party, the best he’d ever thrown. She wasn’t sure about an afterlife, but with what she’d seen, especially in the past few years, anything was possible. Also, she was feeling pathetically sentimental as she looked towards the ceiling. “Well, Howard, the world finally caught up. I’ll pour a brandy for you at the reception. Just one, mind you.”

There was a knock at the door, a familiar voice asking if she was decent. Peggy rolled her eyes, a smile pulling at her lips as she called Tony in. “I was starting to think you’d miss all the fun.”

“Please. As if you’d start anything fun without me. Talking to yourself, Aunt Peggy?”

“Well, I am terribly fascinating.”

“Terribly. Hey Ang? If you’re hiding in here, get out, Bad luck for the bride to see the other bride before the wedding!”

Peggy frowned. He looked dashing as always in his tux, and so like Howard it scared her sometimes, but there was a smudge of something dark on his face. “Do I want to know what kept you?” she asked, closing the space between them.

Tony caught her hand before it could reach his cheek, squeezing lightly before pulling a handkerchief from his pocket. “You never ask if you don’t want answers. Little incident with some sentient death robots, we took care of it.”

Peggy stared him down.

“They weren’t mine!” Tony said, sounding very much like the three-year-old he’d once been. “Seriously, Aunt Peggy. If Thor had smashed up _my_ stuff like that, Asgard would have one hell of a lawsuit on its hands. He says hi, by the way, wants me to bring back some cake. Who knew Norse gods were so into raspberry?”

“Indeed. And the others?”

“Nat and Bird Boy will be here in a minute. Banner says congrats, but he gets emotional at weddings, doesn’t want to risk wrecking the tux. Or the building.”

“Smart boy.” She was glad the others were safe, really, especially Nat and Clint. There was someone else though, someone she needed to see more than she’d initially realized.

And then he was there, peeking his head around the half-open door. “Tony, Pepper says we…”

He stopped talking when he saw her. Peggy had to swallow hard before finding her voice and waving him in. She should’ve been used to that mixture of happiness and pain that took over his face in moments like this, but she wasn’t. “You’re late,” she said, working to sound something like normal.

Steve smiled, fiddling with the tie that hung loose and awkward from his neck. “Come on. By my standards, this is rudely early.”

“True enough.” If Tony was dashing in a tux, Steve was something else entirely. There was no getting around the thought, the knowledge that in another world they’d be young together, dressed to the nines together, Steve not in this room. Bad luck and all that.

Tony cleared his throat. Steve shot him a guilty look. Peggy didn’t. Apologetic maybe, but not guilty. He loved her, even, she thought, liked Steve. Though he’d endure torture by terrorists again before admitting it. But his devotion to Angie was absolute. Angie, who made him spaghetti and looked after him when Peggy should’ve been doing it, and damn near sent her into convulsions when she found the two of them “rocking out” to AC/DC for the first time.

“Spangles here got knocked into a building.”

“It was empty, no civilians. I was _aiming_ for it.”

“Right. Are you _aiming_ to make a fashion statement with that tie? Because if you’re trying to upstage my godmothers, you’ll have to do better than that. And if you do try, I’ll blast you into next week.”

“Boys,” Peggy said. “Tony. Shall I remind you who it was that made you presentable for your MIT graduation?”

“Jarvis.”

“And?” He muttered something semi-intelligible that could’ve been “you.” Peggy nodded in satisfaction. “Not everyone has Pepper to pick out their clothes,” she added, wandering to the now closed door and opening it a crack. “Speaking of Pepper. Brian Phillips seems to be getting quite friendly with her.”

Tony ducked out with rather impressive speed after that, leaving her alone with Steve. “Brian Phillips,” he repeated. “Isn’t that—”

“Chester Phillips’s great grandson. Lovely man, top of his class at West Point. Lives with another lovely man. Thomas, I believe. Angie and I are attending their wedding next month.” Steve’s laugh was warm and unguarded, and it made her heart swell and hurt simultaneously.

“You look beautiful, Peggy.”

She wanted to wave him off. State the obvious. But why bother? They both knew that she was old and wrinkled, and she wouldn’t insult Steve by pretending his words weren’t genuine. “And you look a mess. Come here then. Can’t have you mucking up the wedding photos.”

He did. She dealt with his tie. Fought herself, then gave up, pushing a strand of hair back from his face. She’d rarely been so thankful that age hadn’t taken her height. “Thank you for coming.”

“You asked me to,” he said as if that settled it. “Couldn’t…couldn’t do much for you, but—”

“You’ve done more for me, for everyone, than you’ll ever know.”

“And everyone moved on.”

“Steve—”

“I’m glad you did, too. Especially glad that you did.”

He meant it. He was hurting, but he meant it. Peggy hugged him as hard as she could, not as hard as she wanted to. “I’m glad you’re here, you’re back. So very, very glad, Steve.” Her ears weren’t what they used to be, but she still heard him swallow, felt him nod.

She wanted to say more, but the words wouldn’t come. So she broke the hug and smiled at him and said the only thing she could. “You’ll be at the reception, yes?” She and Angie could’ve gone without, but Tony was determined to throw the party his father couldn’t, and it was easier to just let him work. Work meaning delegate all the major tasks to Pepper. “I’m afraid I’m not as light on my feet as I once was, but I’d like a dance, if you don’t mind.”

“I’ve seen some of Angie’s performances, Peg. No chance I could keep up with her.”

“Oh of course not, no chance of that, none at all. Still, we’re both rather dressed up, and I’m sure Tony’s spent a small fortune on the band. Might as well make them earn their fee.” It was the closest she could get to telling him it was okay, that he wouldn’t be intruding. That she needed this from him before she could go home with her wife tonight.

“Well, as long as there’s no pressure.”

“No. Just seventy years of anticipation. I’m sure you can handle it.”

He saluted her, gave her a ridiculous, silly smile that actually reached his eyes. And then Tony was back, grumpy after being tricked and music was playing and there was no more time, and her past walked out the door. She’d waited for this with Angie nearly as long as she’d waited for Steve. It was time to walk towards the future, towards Angie.

She’d always objected to Howard’s talk of escorting her down the aisle, the thought of being “given away” like some possession, especially Howard’s, made her bristle. Now she was grateful for Tony’s arm linked with hers. She would not, would _not_ use that damn cane today.

The first thing she saw, as always, was Angie. Beautiful and smiling, her eyes glinting the same way they had while serving Peggy her first cup of tea at the Automat. The nerves disappeared as if they’d never been. She would’ve kept staring at her love, happily, if not for the small racket that caught her attention.

Whispering apologies and looking quite harried, Pepper led Clint and Natasha through the small crowd. Clint, who’d come to her office with hunched shoulders but a resolute expression after recruiting Natasha. He’d had absolutely no authority to do so but, as he put it, “You’re retiring in three weeks anyway. Just let her in and leave the mess to Fury and I.”

As if that was ever a possibility. She’d retired on time, but Natasha had been her responsibility as much as Clint’s, or Fury’s. There were times, many, when she and Natasha both hated that. Now Natasha was waving jovially, ignoring Pepper’s orders to hurry up while she adjusted the straps of her dress and caused a mild scene. Clint just smirked, wiping what was probably ash out of his hair. Pepper caught her eye with a desperate, apologetic frown as she herded the other two into seats next to Steve and Sharon. Peggy smiled, hoping to reassure her. The woman deserved a medal. She’d have to see about arranging that, after the honeymoon.

Fury wasn’t here in person. His cameras almost certainly were though, and Peggy had a brief, wild urge to flip him off, knowing he’d see it from at least five angles. But no, not good form to do that in a church.

Tony whispered something into Angie’s ear before taking his seat. Angie smiled and nodded and Peggy tried not to think of what fresh hell they were planning. And then her hands were in Angie’s and they exchanged rings, even though they’d worn them for years already. And then the priest, the utter _wanker_ of a priest, asked if anyone objected to the marriage.

How the bloody hell had that gotten into the program without any of them noticing? People had been _objecting_ for the better part of a century, otherwise this would’ve been done slightly sooner. She was frustrated enough to tell him just that, saw Angie about to do the same.

And then she saw the looks. Four Avengers, one SHIELD agent, and one woman who was so much more than an assistant. All in the front row, all glowering at those behind them, daring anyone to speak up. When they turned those expressions on the idiot of a priest, well, that was almost as good as kissing her wife, her _wife_ , for the first time.

Almost.

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on Tumblr. Hit me up with prompts, or just stop in to say hi.
> 
> http://cblgblog.tumblr.com/


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